Category: College Basketball (Page 103 of 153)

John Calipari can say all he wants about not worrying about his team’s poor foul shooting, but it almost cost them today. The Tigers overcame shooting a dismal 15-32 from the foul line, that included some late misses to pull out a three point win over Mississippi State.
Coach Cal is saying it doesn’t matter publically, as he should, but you know it keeps him up at night.

After missing some late free throws Miss. State pulled to within three and had a couple of chances to tie, but could never get over the hump. Jamont Gordon and Ben Hansborough carried the Bulldogs, but in the end it was Derrick Rose and too much depth for them to overcome.

Louisville used a pressing defense that harrassed Blake Griffin to jump out to a 44-22 halftime lead over Oklahoma and never looked back. Coach Rick Pitino has the Cards clicking on all cylinders and now that they are healthy are a definite threat to win it all.

Meanwhile, North Carolina blasted Arkansas. The TarHeels are healthy and rolling at the right time. With McDonald’s All Americans at every position, it is easy to be Roy Williams. When you shoot 67% from the floor and 8-16 from the 3 point line, let me repeat, it is easy to be Roy Williams.

Looking ahead, there are some interesting mathups.
North Carolina vs. Wash State. Can the Cougars make the Tar Heels play in the half court?
Memphis vs. Michigan State Brawn vs. athleticism?
L-Ville vs. Tennessee The originator of the full court pressure game (Pitino) vs. futuristic pressure coach (Pearl)
Stanford vs. Texas Size vs. Speed
Kansas vs. Villanova Favorite vs. Upstart
UCLA vs. Western Kentucky Blue blood vs. Red Blood
Wisconsin vs. Davidson Halfcourt vs. Halfcourt Whoever gets to 60 first wins.
Xavier vs. West Virginia Youthful experienc (Xavier-Miller) vs. Experienced youth (WVU-Huggins)

Keep tuned for a closer look as the week goes on.

Both Texas and Tennessee started quickly and then had to hold on to defeat Miami and Butler.

Coach Rick Barnes has taught his former assistant well. Frank Haith’s Hurricanes almost completed a miraculous comeback but fell three points short. It took 26 points from AJ Abrams, including some clutch free throws to enable Rich Barnes and the Longhorns to advance.

Texas gets great guard play from Augustin and Abrams, the key to making it to the final four will be can they get enough inside production.

Bruce Pearl had a great game plan. Make Butler beat them off the bounce, not the 3 ball. Everytime Mike Green or AJ Graves drove helpside defenders stayed home. It made them take difficult shots over bigger defenders.

Butler was able to make the game a halfcourt game, but in the end the Vols proved they can get it done in the halfcourt. It was a great run for first year head coach Brad Stevens. Now he must replace Green and Graves in the off-season.

Coaching Note: Indiana will take a long look at Sean Miller from Xavier. If they’re smart they will hire him.

Stephen Curry led the Davidson Wildcats to an upset over #2 seeded Georgetown. Curry was by far the best player on the floor, scoring 25 of his 30 oints in the second half. The Wildcats were the more sound team as they commited only 4 urnovers compared to Georgetown’s 20. They neutralized the size advantage of Roy Hibbert who got in early foul trouble and finished with only 6 points and 1 rebound.

With each passing game Seth Greenberg at Virginia Tech has got to feel the pit in his stomach get evern bigger. Curry is the son of Tech’s all-time leading scorer, Dell Curry. Greenberg didn’t think he was good enough. With a couple more wins Curry could lead his team against ACC competition in the Final Four.

Bob McKillop has done an unbelievable job building the program at Davidson. Nineteen years to be exact and to think he lost close to 60 games his first three years at the helm. Lucky his administration had patience. Class act all the way!!!

Western Kentucky continued their march onward as they shot down San Diego. They blew another second half lead, but regrouped behind Courtney Lee’s 29 to hold off the Toreros. It is only the third time since the field expanded to 64 that a 12 or lower seed has made the Sweet Sixteen.

Villanova dispatched Siena behind the superior guard play of Scottie Reynolds. Nova is one of the smallest teams in the field, but it shows you that it’s a guards game. Reynolds had the best all around game in the rouney thus far with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

Think how good Oklahoma would be with Drew Lavender (Xavier) and Scottie Reynolds in the backcourt. For that matter, how good would Siena be if James McClinton (Miami) and Al Fisher (Kent) were still in a Saints uniform. Not to worry for either coach.

News Flash: Siena AD you better start looking for a new coach because Fran McCaffrey has coached his last game for you. With a resume that includes taking three non-bcs schools to the NCAA tournament he is a hot commodity.

While LSU and South Carolina are still looking for a new head coach (possibly Fran McCaffrey), James Madison is well on it’s way to moving up in the league. They will announce on Monday that Matt Brady, former head coach at Marist, will become the leader of the Dukes.

Brady is a great teacher and an excellent game strategist who will help develop the program in Harrisonburg. Also, it he keeps the core group intact he will be off to a big head start in the CAA.

Rumors also have Anthony Grant being the top candidate for LSU and South Carolina. Marist will look at Big East assistants, possibly Tom Herrion (Pitt), who won a high percentage of games at Charleston.

Michigan State’s Drew Neitzel may not have had the senior year he dreamed about, but it’s not over yet. Neitzel scored 21 and hit every big shot down the stretch for Michigan State. Combine that with a stingy defense that held Pitt to 32% shooting fro mthe floor and 2-17 from behind the line and the Spartans moved on.

The Big 10 has been maligned all year, yet two of its team moved into the round of 16.

Darren Collison hit two driving layups in the last minute to help the Bruins survive an upset scare from Texas A&M. The Aggies controlled most of the game, but Kevin Love hit a big three and then a couple of post shots to bring the Bruins back, setting the stage for Collison’s heroics.

UCLA has the toughness you need to win it all. They have experience and with Love inside they have the paint scoring that they lacked last year. Every team has to survive a close call to win it all. This very well could be the Bruins.

With half the bracket set, two things stick out. First Kansas dominance and Wisconsin’s defense. That should be a great match up down the road.